Do Kansans want more gambling in the state even if it would add money to the state treasury? And, if so, how much gambling is too much?
The debate about casinos and slot machines is taking on new urgency in the state because of a compact under discussion between Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' office and the Kickapoo and the Sac and Fox tribes. Those tribes want to build a large casino in Wyandotte County and have agreed to share their revenue with the state if it will limit casino gaming elsewhere in the state.
As drafted, the compact would provide the state $50 million a year or more but calls for the state's take to decline if more than 500 state-owned slot machines or video lottery terminals are allowed within 100 miles of the casino or if 1,500 machines are allowed anywhere outside the 100-mile limit.
The governor has approved the compact, but it hit a roadblock last week in the Legislative Coordinating Council. The council has the power to approve such a compact when the Kansas Legislature isn't in session, but the issue was removed from the council's agenda last week after House Speaker Doug Mays said a compact that would allow such a large casino should be decided by the whole Legislature.
Legislators may or may not get that chance, depending on whether the governor pursues the compact or focuses on other issues when the session opens in January. In a way, it would be good to see this issue voted on in the Legislature if for no other reason than to bring some closure to the gaming issues that seem to come up every year.
If Kansans want more gaming, the Wyandotte County proposal probably is a good one. It would allow a casino in what most people would agree is the most appropriate location in the state. It would bring money into the state treasury and would have the effect of stifling the expansion of gambling elsewhere in the state. The state wouldn't undercut its revenue from the casino by allowing too many new state-owned slot machines.
The only other group that could expand slot machines or casinos would be another Indian tribe. The Iowa Tribe has announced plans to try to develop a casino in Park City, north of Wichita, which might be viable, but because it would not be on reservation land, it would have to jump through extra regulatory hoops.
Although gaming issues come up about every year, none of the proposals has gone anywhere partly because competing gambling interests can't unite behind a single strategy and because many legislators simply oppose expanded gambling on principle.
The Sac and Fox and Kickapoo proposal for Wyandotte County probably is as good a plan for expanded gambling as the state is going to get. If it fails to gain any momentum in the 2005 Legislature, the state might as well take the issue off the table for at least a few years.
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